Why We Invest

Symrise is active in attractive and rapidly expanding markets. In order to participate in this growth and moreover gain additional market share, Symrise invests on a major scale – for example, in production facilities, logistics, research and development, marketing and sales. Investments also increase the economic and ecological efficiency of our activities in many ways, thereby ensuring our position as one of the most profitable and sustainable companies in the industry.

Growth, profitability and sustainability – these remain the cornerstones of Symrise’s target triangle, through 2025 and beyond. Each of the investment projects that we review, plan and implement pursues these three goals with respectively different weighting. This also applies to our current projects, which are presented in the magazine of this Corporate Report (see“Good Investments”).

Symrise’s growth is primarily organic. We complement this growth by acquiring attractive companies that bring additional competencies into the Group and provide us with access to new market segments and customer groups. We also enter into strategic partnerships to develop new products. In 2014, acquisition of the French Diana Group represented a strategic milestone for the Nutrition segment. In 2015, Symrise bolstered its activities in the Scent & Care segment with the acquisition of the US-based company Pinova Holdings, Inc., followed by smaller business acquisitions in the Netherlands, Canada, the UK and Brazil in 2016 and 2017.

Since the company’s initial public offering in 2006, Symrise has invested a total of about € 1.3 billion in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment. Added to this is the acquisition of investments in entities. The investment ratio – investments as a proportion of sales – has increased significantly from initially 3 – 4 % to currently 6 – 7 %. The markets in which Symrise is active offer enormous opportunities. However, investments must be financed – through internally generated profits, reserves from previous year, equity or debt capital. In addition, the liquidity needs of investments compete with the legitimate claim of shareholders to a suitable dividend. Here, Symrise is pursuing a strategy of financial solidity and the balancing of interests: The medium-term target for the ratio of net debt (including provisions for pensions and similar obligations) to EBITDA is and remains a range of 2.0 to 2.5. The dividend per Symrise share has increased continuously for ten years.